Foetus Brain Map Indicates Where the Problems Actually Start!

Scientists disclosed a high resolution map of gene activity in the brain of a human foetus. According to them, this is likely to give a better understanding of autism-like developmental disorders.

A blueprint was compiled using the given brain tissues of 4 different foetuses developed 15 to 21 weeks after conception. This draft indicates as to which out of the 20,000 genes are active in a specific brain area at various developmental periods.

Ed Lein, a project member from Seattle-based Allen Institue for Brain Sciences stated – “From a developmental biology point of view, this is really when we are setting up the whole system and in particular… when we are beginning to establish the neocortex which is responsible for many of our most distinctive cognitive processes.”

He also went on to say that it is possible to comprehend the way in which, genes impel the generations of several kinds of neurons that finally form the functional circuits by researching this early period.

Earlier, the institute had developed maps for adult human brains. Lein further mentioned that one research that used the map considered the genes related to autism and discovered a particular brain area where they were highly active during a particular development period.

There are hopes that the same kind of patterns can be discovered for other disorders as well at such early stages of development. A separate research in Nature showed a mouse brain’s neuron wiring map, referred to as the main comprehensive till date in any vertebrate class.

The summary of a press release indicated that the authors recommend the data produced here may help investigating neural networks in human beings, which could assist in further comprehending the connectivity of human brain and how it is involved in brain developmental disorders.